What is a lahar?
It is a mudflow mixed with magma and other volcanic material and debris
What is runoff?
Water that flows over the ground rather than soaking into the ground
What is a flood plain?
An area of land adjacent to a river or stream that experiences flooding during periods of high water. 1
What is groundwater?
Ground that fills the cracks and spaces in underground dirt and rock layers
What is erosion?
The process where natural forces break down and wear landforms away over time.
What is a channel?
A passage though which flowing water travels
What is the dividing line between layers of dirt called? What makes them different?
Horizon. Soil/dirt that differes color, texture, composition from the layers above and below it.
What is sediment?
Solid material that is deposited by water, wind, or ice. Though sediment can be any size, we usually think of it as small such as pebbles, sand, dust, and dirt
What is a horizon (in relation to the material we're working on)?
It is the clear difference between laters of dirt.
Describe creep.
imperceptibly slow, steady, downward movement of slope-forming soil or rock. It often causes the gradual tilting of any structures such as fences or powerlines
Why do things in/on the ground decompse?
Organisms such as small mammals, bacteria, and fungi in the soil help to break it down.
What is a delta?
A landform created by the deposition of sediment that is carried by a river as the flow lempties into another body of water
What is humus?
It is decayed organic material and is one of the main ingredients of soil.
What is chemical weathering?
weathering caused by chemical reactions rather than physical force.
What is mass movement?
One of several types of movement of land/sediment is moved by downhill with gravity being a large contributing factor.
What are the 4 types of mass movement?
Landslide, mudflow, slump, creep
What is uniformitarianism? (besides being cool, big word you can use to impress your friends)
It is the idea that the same processes and forces that have always formed the Earth, still form the Earth
What kind of climate leads to things weathering faster?
In general warm and/or wet climates lead to things weathering faster.
What effects the rate of weathering?
The material the thing that is being weathered is made of. The climate.
What is soil? What is it made of?
It is loose material on Earth's surface where plants grow. It is made of humus, wethered material such as rocks, minerals, air, and water
What are the 5 factors that affect runoff?
Amount of rain, vegetation, type of soil, shape of the land, land use
What makes slump different from the other types of mass movement?
The often rotational movement of the involved material, and the ground formations it often leaves behind
What is an alluvial fan?
A fan-shaped deposit of sediment created by a stream as it flows out of a steep, narrow canyon onto a flat plain or valley floor.
What is mechanical weathering?
Weathering cause by physical force breaking pieces of an object off
What is abrasion?
the wearing away or rubbing off of a surface by friction or scraping
What type of material will weather faster?
Usually more permeable material weathers faster.
What is the name for a smaller stream that joins into a bigger stream?
tributary
How many sizes of soil are there? Rank them from biggest to smallest
4. Gravel, sand, silt, clay
Besides gravity, what are some other factors that contribute to mass movement?
Tectonic activity, water content, slope. material, vegetation/flora, human activity
What is deposition?
Sediment being left in a new location.....moved from one place and "deposited" in another
What is deflation?
The process by which wind removes ground surface materials
What is a loess?
A a type of soi based ground formationl, consisting of very small particles of silt and clay left behind by the wind
What is weathering? How many types are there?
The breaking off material from rock and other stuff into small pieces. There are 2 types.